Gil Shaham

Violinist Gil Shaham rose to worldwide notice during the 1990s among a cohort of emerging solo violinists seeking global audiences. Positive coverage and a recording agreement with Deutsche Grammophon helped him demonstrate, both in recital and alongside leading orchestras, that his abilities stood on their own merits and would secure lasting stature among top string artists.

Born February 19, 1971, in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, Shaham relocated with his family to Israel at age two. He commenced lessons at seven with Samuel Bernstein at the Rubin Academy of Music and soon received the initial installment of recurring scholarships from the American Israel Cultural Foundation. In 1981 he appeared as soloist with both the Israel Philharmonic and the Jerusalem Symphony. The next year he won the Claremont Competition in Israel and moved to New York, enrolling at the Juilliard School on scholarship before also attending Columbia University. The 1990 Avery Fisher Career Grant preceded the launch of his full-time performing schedule.

During the 1998-1999 season he joined Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for a concentrated Bartók survey that yielded a recording of the Violin Concerto No. 2 together with the two Rhapsodies for Violin and Orchestra. That same year he toured mainland China, performing with major ensembles in Beijing and Shanghai. His musical rigor has made him a preferred collaborator for prominent conductors, while fellow instrumentalists frequently seek him out for chamber-music projects.

The Deutsche Grammophon association generated numerous acclaimed releases, among them a Grammy-winning recital disc with pianist André Previn that featured a newly composed sonata by Previn. Grammy-nominated concerto pairings with Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra included the Barber and Korngold works as well as Prokofiev’s first and second. Commercial successes encompassed Dvorák for Two, recorded with his sister, pianist Orli Shaham, and Paganini for Two, made with guitarist Göran Söllscher. Another notable achievement was a Four Seasons recording with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. In 2001 Deutsche Grammophon issued Shaham’s account of John Williams’ Violin Concerto, led by the composer with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Shaham established the Canary Classics label in 2004 and has since released the majority of his recordings on it. He received the Avery Fisher Prize in 2008 and was designated Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America in 2012. In 2021 he recorded the Beethoven and Brahms violin concertos with Eric Jacobsen and the Knights, earning a further Grammy nomination. The following year he collaborated with Nicholas McGegan and the SWR Symphonieorchester on a disc of Mozart works for violin and orchestra.

Shaham resides in New York alongside his wife, violinist Adele Anthony, and performs on the 1699 Stradivarius known as the “Countess Polignac.”